Pentagon Says Transgender Policy Based on Constitution, It's Not

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Today, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter announced the U.S. military is dropping its policy of treating male and female troops according to their biology and replacing it with a policy based on a radical new gender identity. In his speech announcing the change, he argued that the Constitution requires this change to be made.

Roger Severino, Director of The Heritage Foundation's DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society and former attorney at the Civil Rights Division of Department of Justice, strongly disagrees:

"Ash Carter's argument is not grounded in the Constitution but on a gender ideology run amok. There is nothing unconstitutional about recognizing biological realities, especially in the military context. Individuals with gender dysphoria were permitted to serve in the military with honor under the old policy. This new policy will allow biological men who identify as women unfettered access to showers in the women's barracks and will require servicemembers to address officers by the pronoun of their choice or risk being booted out of the military.”